Lagatar24 Desk
New Delhi: Former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s daughter, Saima Wazed, has expressed deep sorrow over not being able to see and hug her mother during the ongoing crisis in Bangladesh. The turmoil in the country has resulted in Hasina fleeing to India.
“Heartbroken with the loss of life in my country that I love. So heartbroken that I cannot see and hug my mother during this difficult time. I remain committed to my role as RD,” Saima Wazed tweeted. Wazed is the Regional Director for South East Asia at the World Health Organisation (WHO).
Sheikh Hasina resigned from her position as Prime Minister on Monday and fled to India following a violent uprising, primarily led by student protests. These protests, which initially sought to end a quota system reserving 30% of government jobs for families of veterans, have escalated into widespread anti-government demonstrations, leading to over 400 deaths.
According to sources, Hasina, 77, was given only 45 minutes by the Bangladesh Army to leave the country. Accompanied by her sister, Sheikh Rehana, and close aides, she departed on a military transport jet, landing at Hindon airbase near Delhi. The team arrived in India without extra clothes or daily-use items and was in a state of distress.
Images and videos circulating on social media show protesters ransacking Hasina’s official residence, lying on her bed, and taking selfies. The situation in Bangladesh has prompted the formation of an interim government.
Nobel Peace Laureate Muhammad Yunus will be sworn in as the chief adviser of the interim government at 8 pm today. Yunus, who was recommended for the position by protesting students, described Hasina’s ouster as the “second liberation day” after Bangladesh’s 1971 independence war. Yunus, 84, is returning to Dhaka from Paris, where he was undergoing a medical procedure.
Following Sheikh Hasina’s dramatic escape, Bangladesh President Mohammed Shahabuddin dissolved Parliament and appointed Muhammad Yunus as the head of the interim government.
